I dropped my suitcase in front of me and took in my surroundings. There were people embracing and kissing each other all around the airport. Two people caught my eyes especially. It was a daughter hugging her mother. I had the urge to glare at them. I know it was childish but I was envious of what that teenage girl still had. I would never be able to see my mother again.

Her warm hazel eyes, long auburn hair and heart-warming smile were all gone. My mom was gone.

My best friend kept telling me that London was my get away from all the bad memories in Boston but I didn't want to forget. I was afraid that I'd eventually forget her.

"Sydney." I turned around at the sound of my name. A middle-aged man was staring at me with an awkward smile plastered on his face.

My father.

He hardly looked different from the last time I saw him, only more wrinkles and graying black hair. I hated the fact that I took after my dad, and looked nothing like my mom, especially when old friends who knew my father would comment at say, 'you look exactly like your father.'

Grabbing my suitcase, I walked over to my dad not bothering to smile back. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when we heard a squeal from beside us. I saw a little blonde girl run up to her dad and leap into his arms.

"Daddy, I missed you so much," the girl said. My dad and I both watched the two of them embrace and then walk off blissfully. What a perfect picture. I turned back to my daddy and watched his face. He couldn't look anymore uncomfortable. I didn't really blame him. I mean the last time I'd actually been face to face with him was right before he left, when I was eight. We had exchanged one or two emails after that but that stopped after a while. My mom always told me that he was too busy with his new family and we didn't need him.

She was right I didn't need him then and I didn't need him now.

"I'll take that," he said taking my suitcase from me. There was a long pause as we stood there facing each other. "So… how are you enjoying London so far?" he said nervously, breaking the awkward silence. Had he not realised that I hadn't even set foot out the airport yet.

"Err… the airport is quite nice… lots of… people." Could this conversation be anymore awkward?

"Yeah, Heathrow airport is quite a busy place especially as it's the summer holidays," he said stating the obvious.

"Cool..." Pause.

"I hope you had a comfortable flight?"

"Yep…" Pause.

"Nice food?"

"Uh huh…" Pause.

"Good, good." Very long pause.

"Well then, we should make a move," he said, finally stopping with the awkward small talk. "Gina and Graham are very excited to meet you." Yeah… right. Gina and Graham were my dad's real family. I mean I hardly count as family; I'm just the forgotten daughter he abandoned. He left my mom for Gina. My dad was originally from England and Gina had been his high school lover or something like that.

I actually met Gina once when I was eight. I caught her sneaking out of my dad's office, with messed up hair and an unbuttoned shirt. At the time I didn't fully understand what was going on. I was the one who told my mom, which lead to a divorce and my dad's departure.

***

Silence filled the flashy Mercedes Benz as my dad drove to hishome. My real home was back in Boston, where my mom and I lived in our small but homey house. Home was where I could just visit my best friend anytime as he lived across the street, and where I could just hang out at the skate park around the corner. Home was when I still had my mom.

"Sydney… I'm sorry about your mother..." he started, sympathetically.

"Can we not talk about her?" The last thing I wanted was my father taking pity on me. "It's not like you care," I muttered under my breath.

"Yeah, sure, sorry I brought it up Syd."

"It's Sydney not Syd," I corrected him. I only let my friends back in Boston call me that.

"Okay Sydney." Without asking his permission, I switched on the radio. I flicked through until I found a decent song. I stopped it when I heard one of my favourite bands, Muse playing. I put the volume higher and tapped my finger on the side of the car to the music. I glanced sideways at my dad; he was actually bobbing his head to the music. I actually found it quite amusing to watch.

"Nice music..." he commented." Quite hip!" I gave him an odd look and went back to ignoring him. I rolled down my window and breathed in the London air. We passed London eye which I was eager to go on but definitely not with my dad. There were a couple of emo kids hanging in the park, which got me thinking. I wondered what kind of people I was going to hang out with at my new school. Back home, my group didn't really have a name. We were just the random retarded group.

"Your hair's shorter, it's nice." I turned towards my dad and nodded a sort of thank you to him. When I was eight my black hair had been long and neat, now it was short, layered and had dark blue streaks in it.

I was very different from when I was little. Once upon a time I was a regular girl; I wore some dresses and had Barbie dolls. For some reason when my dad left, I slowly started to change. My dad always said how lovely my hair was long, so I cut it all off. Since then I've always kept it short. I also turned into a complete tomboy. Now I live off band t-shirts and ripped jeans.

At the moment I was wearing some tattered, denim shorts, a band t-shirt, stripy socks and black combat boots. I was also wearing my favourite green beanie. I didn't care of making a presentable impression on my new family.

"Remember when you were little and always said you wanted an older brother. Well now you actually getting one, you're going to love Gray." He must be very proud of his son.

"Gray is not my brother and won't ever be." Gray wasn't related to me in anyway. I've never met him but I knew that he was a year older than me.

We were silent for the rest of the journey. I knew I was being harsh to my dad but he was the one who left when I was eight. Also my mom dying definitely didn't help with my attitude.

I unbuckled my seatbelt as we came to a halt. The house was semidetached and looked very different to my old house. It was a Tudor house and I had to admit, it did look quite epic. I mean compared to where me and my mom used to live, this was luxury.

I went to the back and pulled out my suitcase before my dad could do it for me. Before I even got a chance to reach the door, a tall blonde woman stood in front of me with the hugest grin I had ever seen.

"Sydney it's so good to see you." Yeah sure, she's probably hates me for invading her perfect little family.

"It's so good to see you too," I said, in an overly sweet voice. Unfortunately, Gina didn't quite catch the sarcasm and pulled me in for a hug. My whole body stiffened. I hadn't hugged anyone since my mom, not even my best friend. I pushed her away from me. She looked confused.

"Sorry, not a hugging type of person," I said and walked off into the house. I stood in the hallway and circled around; examining the place I was going to be staying in. It was nice but sort of odd. Ironically, the inside of the house was very modern. No antiques or anything but just white walls and spacious rooms.

I made my way into one of the rooms. I gasped at what I saw.

"Dude…" I stared through the transparent doors overlooking the garden. The garden was massive, and marvellously awesome. It actually had its very own skateboard ramp in the centre. I couldn't believe my eyes, this was paradise

"That's freaking awesome." I continued to gape at my dream garden.

"I agree." I spun round on my heels so fast; I almost met a nasty fall. Recovering quickly, I looked at the source of the voice. A teenage guy was slumped on a sofa smirking at me.

"You scared the shit out of me you moron," I snapped at him. He looked amused by me sudden outburst.

"Sydney, right?"

"Yep, that's me, and you must be the famous Gray." I was shocked by his appearance. I expected him to be some posh English guy, who brushed his hair neatly to the side everyday. This guy was completely different.

His white blonde hair was sticking out of his black beanie and half covered his eye, his pale features were strongly chiselled. What I liked most though, was his eyes. They weren't gray but striking silver. Even though he was quite thin, he still had muscles.

"Can I just say, that is some epic garden you have," I commented. See, I can be nice...

"Let's just clear a few things up, I never asked for an annoying younger sister so I have no intention of getting along or even talking to you. You stick to playing Barbie with your friends and keep out of my business and we'll be just fine," he said simply and got up. I was speechless and just stood there like an idiot. Before I got a chance to recover, he walked out of the room and up the stairs.

What an ass. Did he really think I wanted to be here? Well no one talks to me like that. I stomped out of the room and proceeded to the stairs. I realized that my dad and Gina were still talking at the door.

"She's a bit rude…" Gina stopped when she saw me coming.

"Hi darling where are you off to?" she changed the subject quickly.

"I'm off to see my room, so it's okay, you can carry on bitching about me." Gina turned bright red which pleased me. I picked up my suitcase and stomped up the stairs. I wasn't exactly sure which one my room was but I figured I would find it.

There were about five rooms so I walked into the first one. Nope, that was my dad and Gina's I think. I walked into the second one, wrong again...

"What, you stalking me now?" he said with a smirk on his face. I growled at him and walked out. I then changed my mind and walked back in.

"What is your fucking problem?" You've probably realized by now that I have a bit of a temper- quite small really.

"There wouldn't be a problem, if you would just fuck off." I didn't expect us to get along but I didn't know he was going to be this rude. All I was trying to be was nice.

"I've come across rotting bodies that are less offensive than you are," I hissed at him. Okay maybe not so nice.

"Nice to know," he in a flat voice, as if he couldn't care less. I took a moment to observe his room. I have to say, it was quite impressive and probably three times the size of my old room. His room had band posters everywhere, most of which I had too. In the corner there was a beautiful black 'Les Paul.' There was also an acoustic guitar and to my delight a drum kit in the corner. I wonder if he'd let me use it.

What the hell was I thinking? Of course he wouldn't let me use it. He's an arrogant selfish jerk; with a sexy accent, but that's beside the point. I turned and death glared at him.

"I don't think you quite got it the first time so I'll tell you again. Would very kindly fuck off," he snapped, rudely at me.

"If you're going to act like a dick, you should wear a condom over your head so you can at least look like one." Take that you British ass.

"Keep talking, someday you might actually say something intelligent." He opened his book and started to read. Yeah, ignore me, like that's going to help.

"Can I just say, talking to you is as appealing as playing leapfrog with unicorns," I shot back.

"Then why are you talking to me?" He said, without taking his eyes off his book.

"Close the door on your way out," he said simply. Quick Sydney, come up with a good insult...

"You smell like a bus," I growled at him and left. Just to annoy him, I left the door wide open. I think he was too busy laughing to care.

***

"I hope you like my lamb curry!" Gina said proudly, placing a plate of food on my table. She smiled brightly at me and took her seat at the head of the table. Gray was sitting opposite me already digging into his plate. My dad sat opposite Gina, with his own plate. They were both waiting for me to take a bite. I sat perfectly still staring at the mouth watering food with a blank expression.

"Well…" my dad said. "Dig in then!" I didn't move and continued to stare. They both watched as I pushed the plate away from me.

"I'm vegetarian," I stated flatly. Gina's spoon clattered to the floor. She lookedincredibly irritated. I smiled as I watched her turn red with anger. I had hoped she was the type of women who got worked up by little things. My smile faded when I noticed a certain jerk was eyeing me curiously.

"Since when?" my dad asked.

"Well you see…" I explained. "Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends." Gray suddenly started choking on his food. I soon realised that he was laughing. "It's not funny." I death glared at him, while secretly laughing in the inside. He just gave me an amused look. I looked back at Gina who was looking at my dad angrily as if he should have told her. She met my eyes and put on a big fake smile.

"I suppose I can just see if I can find any leftovers from the fridge?" Shaking my head at her, I stood up in my chair.

"Nah, its fine… I'm not even that hungry," I lied. "Do you mind if I go out for a bit?" My dad looked hesitant for a second but then he gave in.

"But, she's only been here for five minutes. I thought we were going to spend some quality time together." Err… no thanks lady; I would rather spend time with a cockroach.

"She just wants to get to know her new neighbourhood Honey," my dad defended me.

"What if she get's lost?" she fought back. As they started to argue, my eyes met silver eyes. Gray seemed bored out of his mind, as if them arguing was a regular thing. Okay this was getting dull. They didn't even notice when Gray got up from his seat, leaving his plate half empty. He walked in my direction, completely ignoring me. Just when I thought he was going to brush past me without saying a word, he grabbed hold of my bare arm.

"Let's go," he whispered, dragging me out of the room. I didn't protest as I really didn't want to waste my time listening to them two row. He didn't let go of me until we were out the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked finally, trying to keep up with him with his long legs as we walked down the street. Suddenly my stomach made a spazticated noise.

"I think your stomach knows."

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed that, if there's anything you didn't like please tell me.

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